The impact of losing Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson to injury
How will the Miami Heat fair without Tyler Johnson, who went down in Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls?
The Miami Heat know what it’s like to be down a man. Or two. Or more.
Just this season alone, they’ve had to deal with Rodney McGruder fracturing his leg, Hassan Whiteside bruising his knee, Dion Waiters re-tweaking his ankle… and those are only the more serious injuries. Goran Dragic missed time with a banged up elbow, Justise Winslow sat out with a strained knee, James Johnson had bursitis in his ankle.
But somehow, they’ve kept on, keeping on.
Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk made up for Whiteside’s absence. Wayne Ellington held down the two-spot, consistently coming out hot off the bench.
However, now that Tyler Johnson has fallen victim to a sprained ankle/foot, things are about to get a little tricker. Because McGruder and Waiters are still out. And Ellington does better as a part of the second unit.
So what will head coach Erik Spoelstra do?
Well, he could utilize Winslow in a new way. Although the 21-year-old is naturally a forward, he has spent some time in the shooting guard position before. And says he feels ready to take on that role, if needed.
"“I’m very comfortable. For the most part, point guard and the wings are interchangeable. It’s pretty much the same. I’m comfortable pretty much everywhere.”"
The problem being that the third-year has only played in two games so far, since sitting out 14. And although he grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists in Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, he only scored four points in 21 minutes. Not exactly on par with Johnson, averaged 12.2 points on 46.7 percent shooting from the field in January.
Another option would be bringing in Derrick Jones Jr., a guy who the Heat just decided upon as their final two-way player of the year. And while he may not have had a chance to prove himself via Miami quite yet, he has made a splash in the Gatorade League, via the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
In a recent win against the Raptors’ affiliate team, he totaled 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, leading his team to an 108-107 victory in overtime. And in his G-League stints so far this year, he has averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 47.9 percent from the field.
Losing Johnson certainly isn’t ideal for Miami, but the good news is his X-Ray came back negative, hopefully meaning he’ll return sooner than later.
Next: Miami Heat: Why Kelly Olynyk's game will travel well come playoffs
For now, the Miami Heat will just have to learn how to succeed with yet another obstacle in their path.